Dunkelberger, McGarry Claim Warrior Cup 16-19 Age Division Titles

Courtney Dunkelberger and Brandon McGarry are the 2018 Warrior Cup Champions in the 16-19 age division. This tournament is an invite-only, 18-hole event highlighting competitors who have previously won tournaments on the Valspar Junior Tour earlier this summer. The 2018 Warrior Cup was hosted by Island View Golf Club in Waconia, Minn. on August 14, 2018 with the eventual girls and boys winner claiming automatic exemption onto the 2019 MN-WI PGA Junior Cup Matches team.

Courtney Dunkelberger, who is new to competitive play as of this year, battled through a 3-hole playoff series with Sydney Monge to secure the solo victory with a 43-37-80 and Melanie LeMinh rounded off the podium in third. Although Dunkelberger has not played tournament golf in over a year prior to this season, she qualified for the 2018 Warrior Cup back in mid-July with a co-victory alongside of Zada Olig at Pheasant Acres GC. Dunkelberger stated, “My expectations were really low for this tournament, so I am glad about how I was able to finish. I am also really excited to play with some other talented golfers while representing Team Minnesota.”

After starting the day 4-over par through three holes, Brandon McGarry fought back hard to finish the day at even par (37-35-72) which would eventually secure him the 2018 Warrior Cup title. Mark Olson would finish in solo-second while Jack Olson would finish in third for the boys after a one-hole playoff with Michael Suaro. With McGarry (Grand Forks), M. Olson (Oxbow), and J.Olson (Fargo) topping the leaderboard, it marks the first time in Warrior Cup history that the podium was dominated by North Dakota competitors. McGarry qualified for the Warrior Cup at the end of July at Grand Forks CC as a co-champion alongside Koby Kuenzel. The McGarry family is no stranger to success as Brandon’s younger brother Brady is coming off a recent victory with Team Minnesota at the 2018 MN-WI PGA Junior Cup Matches where Brandon was a spectator. However, Brandon stated he was excited to be able to share the “bragging rights” with his brother with an automatic bid onto the 2019 Team Minnesota after his Warrior Cup victory.